Ain't No Angel

by Henderson, Peggy L

  “Yeah,” she said absently. “I suppose you’re right.” Laney settled back against him.

  Tyler nuzzled her neck. “You’d better not let anyone but me hear you talking like this, Laney. You’ll be branded as the loco wife of the crazy horse rancher who lets his woman wear britches and do all sorts of unheard of things to his horses. Folks’ll even speculate that you come from the future. They’ll want to poke and prod at you, to see if you’re like the rest of us, just to find out if people are different a hundred and fifty years from now.”

  Well, they would be correct in their assumption that I’m from the future.

  “You think I’m crazy?”

  “No.” He raised his head and stared intently at her, his eyes glowing warmly as his gaze roamed her face. His hand caressed her cheek. “I think you’re beautiful, and you have a wild imagination, and you have a way with horses. And I think I love you for all those reasons, and more.”

  “Would you go to a different time, leave everything you know behind, at the chance for a better life?”

  Tyler stared at her in silence for a moment, then his mouth widened in that smile that always melted her insides.

  “I’ve got everything I need right here.” He touched his lips to hers. “I suppose if you ever get the hankering to live a hundred and fifty years in the future, I’ll have no choice but to go with you, but I’d much rather convince you to stay here with me.”

  “You’ve already convinced me of that, Tyler.”

  She pulled his head toward her, and demanded in no uncertain terms that he kiss her again. He wasn’t taking her serious. For now, she was satisfied with his answers. Convincing him that everything she’d said was true might take a little longer. Perhaps when he returned from Fort Ellis, she’d bring it up again.

  Chapter 25

  Tyler adjusted the cinch around Charlie’s belly, and inspected the rest of his gear for the final time. He led the gelding from the barn, and his eyes roamed the grounds. The horses he was taking to Fort Ellis were still penned in their corral. For the first time ever, he wasn’t looking forward to making this trip. He shook his head, unable to suppress the perpetual grin on his face. He couldn’t ever remember a time in his life when he’d been happier than he was now. And it was all because of one feisty little gal who occupied his mind and heart.

  Delaney. Angel from heaven. Hell, yeah. She certainly was, even if she didn’t believe it herself. She’d managed to pull him from his sullen existence in the short amount of time she’d been here. She’d also saved his animals, and in the process, his ranch, with her vast horse knowledge. He thanked God every day for bringing her into his life.

  Tyler chuckled. The conversation they’d had the other morning hadn’t left his thoughts. Laney sure had some crazy notions in her head about traveling through time and what it might be like in the future. He’d never heard anyone have such wild ideas before. And her speculations about what things were like in another time were almost as if she had first-hand accounts of it.

  She almost had him believing such a thing was possible. He’d all but expected her to tell him that she had come from the future, and that’s where all of her know-how came from, along with her unusual words and behavior. His wife sure was unlike any female he’d ever met. It got him thinking what it might be like, two centuries from now. He shook his head again.

  Now who’s thinking crazy thoughts?

  Laney was sure rubbing off on him, and she had him completely wrapped around her finger. If he wasn’t careful, his neighbors would truly call him the loco rancher mighty soon. He’d almost given in when she asked him if she could come along to Fort Ellis. He’d been prepared for her question. He had expected nothing less from her. As much as he would have liked to bring her with him, Tyler refused to risk her safety simply because he didn’t want to be separated from her for a week. Telling her no had been mighty difficult.

  “All set to head out?”

  Tyler turned his head. Gabe strode toward him, pointing at the horses. “The boys are ready when you are.”

  “Yeah. Time to move out,” Tyler said absently. He glanced toward the house at that moment. Laney stood on the porch, holding a leather bag in her hand. His entire being was tuned-in to his wife. She hadn’t been there a minute ago. It was uncanny how he knew instantly when she was close by.

  “Maybe I should be the one to go to Fort Ellis.” Gabe’s laughter broke the invisible current between him and the woman standing by his home, waiting for him.

  “You sure you’ll survive a week away from your wife?”

  “What makes you say I won’t?” Tyler grumbled, then grinned sheepishly. He adjusted his hat on his head, and turned toward his horse.

  “You’re burning daylight,” Gabe said. “You should have been on the trail an hour ago.”

  Tyler mounted his horse. “Keep an eye on the fence lines. Anything suspicious, alert Ian.”

  Gabe’s brows rose. “Ian?” He laughed. “Frazier is the last person I’d trust, Ty. His horse won that race, remember? He’s the one who wants your contracts. If there’s something suspicious going on, I’ll be keeping my eye on him, not seek his help.”

  “Just don’t do anything rash,” Tyler warned. “Wait until I’m back, and we’ll figure it out together what to do.” He glared down at his friend. “And it goes without saying, Gabe. Don’t talk to Laney like you do around your whores. I’ve warned you before.”

  Gabe’s grin widened. “I think your wife can hold her own,” he said. “Don’t worry, boss. I’ll try my best to keep her out of trouble while you’re gone.”

  Tyler studied his foreman. There had always been some sort of undercurrent between him and Laney. It was as if he enjoyed taunting her, and no matter how often Tyler had warned him to back off, Gabe hadn’t heeded his words. Laney hadn’t said a word to him that Gabe was bothersome, or else he would have taken his foreman to task again. In a way, he still needed to thank Gabe. He was ultimately responsible for bringing her into his life.

  “Make sure that you do,” Tyler said slowly. He looked Gabe in the eyes, and added, “I appreciate you watching out for her.”

  Gabe nodded.

  Tyler twisted his body in the saddle, and whistled loudly through his teeth.

  “Move ‘em out,” he called to Beau and the two others who would accompany him. Sammy ran to open the gate to the pen, and the horses ran out. Tyler reined Charlie toward the house. He loped up to the front porch, and skidded to a stop.

  Laney stood quietly, her face devoid of the smiles and laughter Tyler loved to see. With one fluid movement, he dismounted his horse, and leapt onto the porch. He cupped her head between his hands, and brought his mouth down on hers. Laney melted against him, and wrapped her arms around his middle.

  “You be good while I’m gone,” he whispered against her lips.

  “I miss you already,” she said, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

  “Woman, if you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’m not gonna be able to ride away from here.”

  “Go,” she said with a quick laugh. She pushed away from him. “It’s only a week. I might as well get used to this, right?”

  She thrust the leather bag at him. “I packed you some food.”

  Tyler smiled. He accepted the bag, and kissed her one final time.

  “I love you,” he said hoarsely, then turned on his heels before he changed his mind and told Gabe to ride out in his place.

  Mounting his horse, he glanced toward Laney one final time. She hugged the porch post, and blew a kiss at him, a sad smile on her face.

  “Stay safe,” she called. “I love you. I’ll see you in a week.”

  Tyler tipped his hat to her, then nudged Charlie in the sides. The gelding took off at a fast canter, following the band of horses that stirred up dust ahead of him. This would surely be the longest week of his life.

  ****

  Laney pulled the last of Tyler’s shirts from the clothesline, folded it, and pl
aced it in the laundry basket. With the full basket at her hip, she headed back into the house. She hummed a favorite song, wishing she had a radio to break the constant silence.

  Tyler had only been gone for two days, and she missed him more with every passing hour. To pass the time in his absence, she planned a thorough cleaning of the house. That would keep her out of trouble, as he would say, and out of the barns.

  She had started with Tyler’s room, which they now shared, and moved on to the bedroom that his parents had occupied. After putting the laundry away, she carried a bucket of water and some rags into the room. She thoroughly washed down the wooden dresser and the insides of each of the drawers. Some contained old clothes that must have belonged to Jonas Monroe.

  She removed the shirts from one of the drawers, when something fell out from between one of the folded articles. Glass clattered on the wooden floor, sending several chards in all directions.

  Laney stepped back and bent down to carefully pick up the pewter picture frame that had fallen to the ground, mindful not to cut herself. The picture inside caught her eye. A man sat in a chair, staring unsmiling into the camera. Next to him stood a woman, an equally stoic expression on her face. One of her hands rested on the man’s shoulder.

  There was no question these were Tyler’s parents. The woman and he shared similar facial features, and as close as she could tell from the black and white photograph, she had the same shade of brown hair as her son. Her hair was styled up and behind her head, and the dress she wore buttoned up her neck. No one would have ever guessed she had been a prostitute.

  The unsmiling man had to be Jonas Monroe. Although he sat rigid, and at first glance appeared stern and cold, his eyes held a hint of warmth, and Laney instantly recognized Tyler’s eyes. She held the photo up closer to her face. Tyler’s father had jet black hair, much like . . . she drew in a deep breath, and stared at those eyes again. A sudden realization hit her. Something that had subconsciously nagged at her for weeks, but had always remained just outside of reach.

  Laney set the photograph and frame on top of the dresser. She darted from the room, and out the front door. She marched down the path to the bunkhouse, smoothing down the front of her dress with her sweaty palms. In Tyler’s absence, she had decided it was better not to wear britches.

  She knocked loudly on the bunkhouse door. She wasn’t even sure where any of the wranglers were who hadn’t gone with Tyler. The ranch had been eerily quiet all morning. There was no answer from within, so she turned on her heels, and headed for one of the barns. Usually at least one man remained at the ranch, but the place appeared to be completely deserted today. She opened the creaking door to the barn that housed Rap, and peered inside. The stallion nickered from his stall at the far end of the barn. She still needed to turn him out into the small pen for some restricted exercise today.

  She headed for the stallion’s stall.

  “I might as well let you out while I wait,” she said out loud. Her mind reeled as she reached for the halter hanging on the stall door. Before she had a chance to slip inside the stall, footsteps behind her alerted her to someone’s presence. The hair at the back of her neck rose, and she turned slowly.

  “I thought I might find you in here,” Gabe’s deep voice drawled, and he sauntered toward her.

  Laney stepped away from the stall, and studied him. Why had Tyler never told her that he had . . .

  “I’ve been meaning to have a talk with you, Laney. Now that Tyler isn’t around, we need to get some things straightened out, don’t we?” Gabe stopped right in front of her, and she had to lift her head to look him in the eyes. There was no denying the similarities. She’d seen it before, but she’d never put two and two together.

  “Not dressed in your usual garb.” His eyes roamed her from top to bottom. “Finally decided that a woman oughta be wearin’ a dress and not run around in britches?” He sniggered. “But maybe where you’re from, that’s how women dress.”

  Gabe’s eyebrows rose, a triumphant sneer on his face. He stepped closer to her. The urge to back up, and put some distance between them overpowered her, but Laney stood her ground. If she cowered now, he’d have the upper hand.

  “I’ve been meaning to have a talk with you, too, Gabe,” she said, glaring up at him. She darted a quick glance at the barn door. Being alone with him inside the barn was probably not a good idea, though. She wasn’t exactly afraid of Gabe, but his domineering attitude left her feeling vulnerable and exposed.

  He laughed. “Well then, ladies first,” he offered in a smug tone.

  Laney angled her head, staring up into his eyes. Tyler’s eyes. With each passing second, it became clearer to her.

  “Tell me, Gabe,” she asked slowly. “Does Tyler know that he has a brother? Because he sure never mentioned it to me.”

  She studied him for a reaction. His jaw muscles tightened, and his stare turned to ice.

  “How the hell would you know about that?” He grabbed hold of her arm, his fingers biting into her skin, and pushed her backwards against one of the stall doors.

  “I guessed.” Laney swallowed back her apprehension, and squirmed in his firm grip. “Let go of me.”

  “You ruined everything for me. All my plans,” he snarled. His eyes blazed in anger. He didn’t deny what she’d said.

  “What plans?”

  Keep him talking, Laney. Maybe one of the other wranglers will come along soon.

  He laughed bitterly. “You have no idea what the hell I’m talking about, do you? I wonder where the woman who answered my original letter ended up. I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t go along with my instructions, until I overheard you talking to the reverend.”

  Laney swallowed. “You’re right, Gabe. I have no idea what you’re talking about. You sent for a mail order bride for Tyler, so here I am.”

  Gabe laughed again. “Well, you see, Mrs. Monroe, therein lies the problem. I never sent for a mail order bride. My letter went to a whorehouse in Philadelphia, asking for one of the whores to come west and marry a prominent rancher.”

  Laney’s eyes widened. “You wanted Tyler to marry a prostitute? Why?”

  “Took me a while to figure out why you were acting all proper like. At first, it looked like you were doing just fine, going right along with what I told you in my letter, but after a while, you started acting like a decent woman. We had a deal. I had it all worked out before that horse race ever took place. You ruined my plans, Laney.”

  “You’re crazy, you know that? What sick joke are you playing?” Laney’s jaw dropped. Rage consumed her when his words registered in her mind. “You planned for this before Rap lost his race, didn’t you? That means that . . . you’re the one who injured that stallion. Why would you do something like that?”

  She continued to squirm and pull back against his tight grip on her. Her voice rose in anger with each word she uttered. None of this was making sense to her. This man was Tyler’s brother. The two of them were close friends. Why would he play such a sick joke, and hurt an animal on top of that?

  “My plan is to make Tyler’s life as miserable as possible,” Gabe sneered.

  Laney shook her head and closed her eyes. None of this made sense to her. Before she could speak, Gabe continued.

  “When I heard that conversation between you and the reverend, it finally became clear to me why you weren’t upholding your end of the bargain. I always wondered how you knew him when you first came here. He’s not exactly what he seems, is he? He’s hardly ever around. Your strange conversation that you come from another time was quite interesting. You ain’t here because of me. That reverend is the one who sent you here, ain’t he? You didn’t come from back east. Tell me, Laney, does Tyler know? Have you told him that you are from another . . . time?”

  Laney glared at him. What should she tell him? Gabe chuckled, and rubbed at his chin. “I had my doubts, actually. Sort of hard to believe, ain’t it? Traveling though time seems like a farfetched idea. I had to think
on it a lot after I heard you talking to the reverend. I’m still not sure what to believe, but judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing it must be true.”

  “There seem to be a lot of things that Tyler is unaware of around here,” Laney said between clenched teeth, for lack of something better to say. “It’s about time that he gets clued in about everything, don’t you think?” she challenged. “You also planted that sick colt, didn’t you?”

  Her mind raced, trying to understand this man’s animosity toward Tyler. Tyler didn’t like whores, because of his mother. She finally understood what Gabe had been trying to tell her when he mentioned it. He wanted Tyler to marry a whore to make him miserable. Gabe’s rudeness toward her made sense now, but why he would harbor such hatred for Tyler to scheme to ruin him and his ranch was beyond her comprehension.

  “It ain’t none of your concern what I did and why.”

  “Tyler’s going to find out when he comes home,” Laney threw at him. “I’m tired of lying to him about where I come from, and he deserves to know the truth. He’s also going to find out what you’ve done to his horses, not to mention Ian’s horses.”

  Gabe laughed, and pulled her roughly away from the stall.

  “Ty ain’t gonna find out anything. You may have ruined my original plans, but this might just work out even better. Tyler is so taken with you, it’ll kill him when you’re gone. And the beauty of it is, no one will ever find you.”

  “What the hell are you talking about now?” Laney’s heart hammered in her chest. She squirmed against Gabe’s grip, but she was no match for his size and strength.

  “A few weeks ago, you told the reverend to send you back home. You’re going to do exactly that. You’re going to go back to that future time you came from.”

  Laney’s jaw dropped. “No, I won’t. I made up my mind that I’m staying here. I don’t even know how to get home.”

  “I’m sure the good reverend knows of a way. If you don’t, well, lots of things can go wrong on a horse drive. Men have been known to get killed.”